Joint Research Day UiB – Helse Bergen 170323 – and UiB – Helse Stavanger in the autumn!

Last Friday, the Joint Research Day for UiB and Helse Bergen got off the ground. The aim was to stimulate increased research collaboration between the hospital and the university. This was a success. We counted 160 people present in the room – i.e. more than the maximum number at registration. Consequently, there were not enough chairs, and some had to stand. There is nothing quite like feeling that something is so popular that it is cramped for space 🙂

CEO at Helse Bergen Eivind Hansen and Vice Chancellor at UiB Gottfried Greve opened the seminar together. They emphasized that today’s culture of collaboration is very good and little governed by what is difficult, but that you must constantly work to overcome the challenges that arise. Together we are stronger 🙂

This was followed by great, scientific talks on the corona pandemic by Professor and Senior Physician Nina Langeland, on rhythmic hormone diagnostics by Professor and Senior Physician Eystein Husebye, on possibilities for treating a rare cause of blindness by Associated Professor and Senior Physician Cecilie Brederup, and finally on mechanisms of action in anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorders by Associated Professor and Senior Physician Olga Therese Ousdal. The research that was presented represented some of the best we have at Haukeland Campus, i.a. based on articles in the Nature, Science, and Lancet class.

The research seminar should definitely be repeated! If we e.g. aim for seminars four times per year, one can imagine themes such as patient cases with translational aspects, clinical studies, new techniques and methods, interdisciplinary studies, as well as presentations by  young, promising researchers.

In connection with the half-yearly meeting of the Joint Education Council between the Faculty of Medicine and Helse Stavanger last Monday, the implementation of the first step for the new course of study Vestlandslegen at Helse Stavanger from the autumn was on the agenda. There was no doubt that the students will be well received with concrete plans for teaching for the coming 4th year in Stavanger.

Before the corona pandemic, we had planned a research seminar between UiB and Health Stavanger with the same goal as the meeting we had last week at Haukeland Campus. The corona pandemic caused this seminar to be cancelled, but now the initiative has been brought back to life. There was still great interest in such a meeting in Stavavanger, and I certainly believe that it is mutual when it comes to researchers in Bergen. There is much we can learn from each other with opportunities to create new research collaborations for mutual benefit and fun. We are therefore planning such a meeting in connection with the first meeting of the Joint Education Council in the autumn.

Have a great weekend!